Understanding the octopus and its relationships with humans
A new book tracks the human fascination with octopuses across centuries. A giant Pacific octopus shows its colors at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. (credit: Monterey Bay Aquarium) While other octopus books study the animal's.....»»
DNA confirms these 19th-century lions ate humans
“Tsavo Man-Eaters” killed dozens of people in late 1890s, including Kenya-Uganda Railway workers. For several months in 1898, a pair of male lions turned the Tsavo region of K.....»»
Humans have near-equal numbers of male and female babies, unlike many other animals—a new genetic study looks for clues
We know that boys and girls are produced in much the same frequency. But how—and why—is this 1:1 ratio achieved?.....»»
Coastal cities have a hidden vulnerability to storm-surge and tidal flooding that"s entirely caused by humans
Centuries ago, estuaries around the world were teeming with birds and turbulent with schools of fish, their marshlands and endless tracts of channels melting into the gray-blue horizon......»»
Understanding landslides: A new model for predicting motion
Along coastal California, the possibility of earthquakes and landslides is commonly prefaced by the phrase, "not if, but when." This precarious reality is now a bit more predictable thanks to researchers at UC Santa Cruz and The University of Texas a.....»»
Silicon metasurfaces unlock broad-spectrum infrared imaging
Infrared imaging technology is crucial for advancing our understanding of the world, from exploring biological specimens to inspecting complex materials and detecting hidden patterns in physical systems......»»
Employers" lack of understanding limiting job opportunities for people with learning disabilities, study finds
Employers' lack of understanding is limiting employment opportunities for job seekers with learning disabilities, a new study has found......»»
DNA confirms these 19th century lions ate humans
“Tsavo Man-Eaters” killed dozens of people in late 1890s, including Kenya-Uganda Railway workers. For several months in 1898, a pair of male lions turned the Tsavo region of K.....»»
Human Origins Look Ever More Tangled with Gene and Fossil Discoveries
Fossil and gene discoveries paint an ever-more-intertwined history of humans combining with vanished species like Neandertals.....»»
Fossil Human Ancestor ‘Lucy’ Remains Pivotal 50 Years after Discovery
Half a century after its discovery, this iconic fossil remains central to our understanding of human origins.....»»
What we can learn from animals about death and mortality
Susana Monsó chats with Ars about her new book, Playing Possum: How Animals Understand Death. Human beings live every day with the understanding of our own mortality, but do anim.....»»
Targeting bacteria: Auxiliary metabolic genes expand understanding of phages and their reprogramming strategy
Viruses that infect bacteria—known as bacteriophages—could be used in a targeted manner to combat bacterial diseases. They also play an important ecological role in global biogeochemical cycles. Recent research by researchers at the University of.....»»
Reports: Tesla’s prototype Optimus robots were controlled by humans
But the prototypes used "artificial intelligence" to control their walking. After Elon Musk provided his "long-term" vision for autonomous, humanoid robots at last week's "We, Rob.....»»
Is the physics of red blood cells in bats a key to "artificial hibernation" for humans?
The mechanical properties of red blood cells (erythrocytes) at various temperatures could play an important role in mammals' ability to hibernate. This is the outcome of a study that compared the thermomechanical properties of erythrocytes in two spe.....»»
Canopy structure regulates autumn phenology by mediating microclimate in temperate forests, finds study
Autumn phenology serves as a sensitive indicator of temperate forests' response to climate change and is a key factor influencing forest carbon sequestration. Understanding the mechanisms driving the spatiotemporal variations in autumn phenology is c.....»»
Bacteria discovered in healthy vertebrate brains point to a potential role in brain function
Researchers at the University of New Mexico have identified the presence of bacteria in the healthy brains of fish. Understanding this connection between bacteria and animal brains could have future implications for the study of Alzheimer's disease......»»
How "vaccinating" plants could reduce pesticide use and secure global food supplies
In a growing and changing world, we need to find ways of putting food on everyone's table. Pesticides have enabled mass cultivation on an incredible scale, but they can have harmful secondary effects on humans and wildlife, and pests are rapidly evol.....»»
Ancient hominins had humanlike hands, indicating earlier tool use, study reveals
An analysis by Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Germany, on the manual capabilities of early hominins reveals that some Australopithecus species exhibited hand use similar to modern humans......»»
Invisible text that AI chatbots understand and humans can’t? Yep, it’s a thing.
A quirk in the Unicode standard harbors an ideal steganographic code channel. What if there was a way to sneak malicious instructions into Claude, Copilot, or other top-name AI ch.....»»
Ancient humans were so good at surviving the last ice age, they didn"t have to migrate like other species
Humans seem to have been adapted to the last ice age in similar ways to wolves and bears, according to our recent study, challenging longstanding theories about how and where our ancestors lived during this glacial period......»»
I was a beta tester for the Nobel prize-winning AlphaFold AI—it"s going to revolutionize health research
The deep learning machine AlphaFold, which was created by Google's AI research lab DeepMind, is already transforming our understanding of the molecular biology that underpins health and disease......»»